Gale as GOC 6th Airborne Division, 10 June 1944.

General Sir Richard Nelson Gale, GCB, KBE, DSO, MC (1896 – 1982) was a British soldier who served in both world wars, rising eventually to be Deputy Supreme Allied Commander Europe. Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ... Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ... General Officer Commanding (GOC) is the usual title given in the armies of Commonwealth (and some other) nations to a general officer who holds a command appointment. ... The 6th Airborne Division was an airborne unit of the British Army during World War II. // The division was formed in the United Kingdom on 3 May 1943, during the Second World War. ... June 10 is the 161st day of the year (162nd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Badge of a Companion of the Order of the Bath (Military Division) The Most Honourable Order of the Bath (formerly The Most Honourable Military Order of the Bath)[1] is a British order of chivalry founded by George I on 18 May 1725. ... The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry established on 4 June 1917 by King George V. The Order includes five classes in civil and military divisions; in decreasing order of seniority, these are Knight Grand Cross or Dame Grand Cross (GBE) Knight Commander... DSO medal The Distinguished Service Order (DSO) is a military decoration of the United Kingdom, and formerly of other Commonwealth countries, awarded for meritorious or distinguished service by officers of the armed forces during wartime, typically in actual combat. ... The Military Cross (MC) is the third level military decoration awarded to officers and (since 1993) other ranks of the British Army and formerly also to officers of other Commonwealth countries. ... Year 1896 (MDCCCXCVI) was a leap year starting on Wednesday (link will display calendar). ... Year 1982 (MCMLXXXII) was a common year starting on Friday (link displays the 1982 Gregorian calendar). ...

In World War I he was awarded the Military Cross in 1918 whilst serving as a junior officer in the Machine Gun Corps. In World War II he served with 1st Parachute Brigade and then the 6th Airborne Division during the invasion of Normandy (D-Day) in 1944. “The Great War ” redirects here. ... The Military Cross (MC) is the third level military decoration awarded to officers and (since 1993) other ranks of the British Army and formerly also to officers of other Commonwealth countries. ... The Machine Gun Corps (MGC) was a corps of the British Army, formed in October 1915 in response to the need for more effective use of machine guns on the Western Front in World War I. The Heavy Branch of the MGC were the first to use tanks in combat... Combatants Allied powers: China France Great Britain Soviet Union United States and others Axis powers: Germany Italy Japan and others Commanders Chiang Kai-shek Charles de Gaulle Winston Churchill Joseph Stalin Franklin Roosevelt Adolf Hitler Benito Mussolini Hideki Tōjō Casualties Military dead: 17,000,000 Civilian dead: 33,000... The 6th Airborne Division was an airborne unit of the British Army during World War II. // The division was formed in the United Kingdom on 3 May 1943, during the Second World War. ... Combatants United States United Kingdom Canada Free France Poland Germany Commanders Dwight Eisenhower (Supreme Allied Commander) Bernard Montgomery (land) Bertram Ramsay (sea) Trafford Leigh-Mallory (air) Omar Bradley (U.S. 1st Army) Miles Dempsey (UK 2nd Army) Harry Crerar (Canadian 1st Army) Gerd von Rundstedt (OB WEST) Erwin Rommel (Heeresgruppe...

Service biography

• World War I 1915-1918
  • 2nd Lt, Worcestershire Regiment 1915
  • Machine Gun Corps
  • Awarded Military Cross 1918
• Capt, The Duke of Cornwall's Light Infantry 1930
• Maj, Royal Inniskilling Fusiliers 1938
• World War II 1939-1945
  • 1 Parachute Brigade
  • 6 Airborne Division, Battle of Normandy 1944
  • Deputy Commander, 1 Allied Airborne Army 1945
  • Commander, 1 British Airborne Corps 1945
• 1 Infantry Div 1946-1947
• General Officer Commanding British Troops, Egypt and Mediterranean Command 1948-1949
• Director General of Military Training, War Office 1949-1952
• Commander-in-Chief, Northern Army Group, Allied Land Forces, Europe and British Army of the Rhine 1952-1957
• Retired 1957
• Re-employed as Deputy Supreme Allied Commander Europe 1958-1960

Source: Liddell Hart Centre for Military Archives “The Great War ” redirects here. ... The Worcestershire Regiment was an infantry regiment of the line in the British Army, formed in 1881 by the amalgamation of the 29th (Worcestershire) Regiment of Foot and the 36th (Herefordshire) Regiment of Foot. ... The Machine Gun Corps (MGC) was a corps of the British Army, formed in October 1915 in response to the need for more effective use of machine guns on the Western Front in World War I. The Heavy Branch of the MGC were the first to use tanks in combat... The Military Cross (MC) is the third level military decoration awarded to officers and (since 1993) other ranks of the British Army and formerly also to officers of other Commonwealth countries. ... The Duke of Cornwalls Light Infantry was the 32nd Regiment of Foot of the British Army. ... Royal Inniskilling Fusiliers Motto: Nec Aspera Terrent (By Difficulties Undaunted) In 1688 the inhabitants of Inniskillen, Ireland, organized a town millitia to defend the area aginst James II. The millitia fought the enemy with such succes that it was later incorporated into the army of William III as the Inniskilling... Combatants Allied powers: China France Great Britain Soviet Union United States and others Axis powers: Germany Italy Japan and others Commanders Chiang Kai-shek Charles de Gaulle Winston Churchill Joseph Stalin Franklin Roosevelt Adolf Hitler Benito Mussolini Hideki Tōjō Casualties Military dead: 17,000,000 Civilian dead: 33,000... Combatants United States United Kingdom Canada Free France Poland Germany Commanders Dwight Eisenhower (Supreme Allied Commander) Bernard Montgomery (land) Bertram Ramsay (sea) Trafford Leigh-Mallory (air) Omar Bradley (U.S. 1st Army) Miles Dempsey (UK 2nd Army) Harry Crerar (Canadian 1st Army) Gerd von Rundstedt (OB WEST) Erwin Rommel (Heeresgruppe... There have been two formations named British Army on the Rhine (BAOR). ... The Liddell Hart Centre for Military Archives (LHCMA) at Kings College London was set up in 1964. ...

Gale talking to troops of 5th Parachute Brigade, June 1944.

Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ... Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ...

Publications

• With the 6th Airborne Div in Normandy (Sampson Low, Marston & Co, London, 1948)
• Call to arms. An autobiography (Hutchinson, London, 1968)
• Great battles of biblical history (Hutchinson, London, 1968)
• The Worcestershire Regiment, the 29th and 36th Regiments of foot (Leo Cooper, London, 1970)
• Kings at arms: the use and abuse of power in the great kingdoms of the East (Hutchinson, London, 1971)